Rebounding from a home loss to Columbia on national television 17 days ago, Harvard women’s basketball used its pressure defense and a big fourth-quarter run to take round two at Levien Gymnasium, 60-54, in front of a raucous sellout crowd and ESPNU audience.
“I’m just really proud of our team … We were obviously disappointed with what we were able to do in that last game. You saw more of who we are in this game,” Harvard coach Carrie Moore said. “This team being able to take a punch, and then give a punch, and take another punch and punch back. We just really showed our growth and maturity.”
Harvard (19-3, 8-2 Ivy), which beat Cornell by 37 points on Friday night and exorcised the demons of its lackluster performance against the Big Red 16 days earlier, remains in third place but now sits only one game out of first place.
While Columbia (18-5, 9-1) clinched a spot in the Ivy League Tournament with its 89-37 victory over Dartmouth on Friday night, Sunday’s defeat moved the team into a tie with Princeton and ended several impressive streaks for the program: 11 straight games, 19 consecutive conference games and 20 regular season home contests.
“I thought they (Harvard) were just the better team today,” Columbia coach Megan Griffith said.
The first half was a slugfest, with both teams using full court pressure to frustrate its opponent.
By the time the horn sounded to end the opening quarter, the Crimson held a 14-9 lead on the strength of their 42% shooting and a single three-pointer.
The Lions only managed one basket on 8% shooting, including a 0-for-6 effort from three. But the Light Blue, which entered the day shooting 59% from the free throw line, went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe.
Columbia’s shooting improved to 33% in the second quarter, but the Lions only scored seven points. On the other side, Harvard’s accuracy went down to 25% and its five points left them with a three-point advantage, 19-16, at the half.
Griffith and senior guard Kitty Henderson said they felt the team was not playing its game, going more one-on-one and forcing contested shots.
But the hosts started the first three-plus minutes of the third quarter on a 12-0 run, featuring two triples from sophomore guard Riley Weiss, a long-range shot from senior guard Cecelia Collins and an old-fashioned three by Henderson.
Columbia was up eight, 36-28, late in the third, when Harvard went on an 7-1 run to make it a two-point contest with 1:12 to go.
Just when momentum seemed to shift back to the Crimson, Collins sank a triple from the top of the arc and first-year guard Mia Broom nailed a three from the right elbow with five seconds left on the clock to close out the frame on a 6-2 run and give the Lions a 43-37 lead.
With the Lions nine-point swing in the third quarter and the crowd in a frenzy, there wasn’t any worry on the Harvard sideline heading into the final frame.
“We stayed very poised. We didn’t allow those two big shots, and those were really great shots that they took, to startle us,” senior guard Harmoni Turner said. “I feel like, in the past, that’s kind of gotten hold of us. We’ve learned that lesson … They had their time and now it’s time for us to punch back.”
Moore echoed that idea, referencing Roger Federer’s 2024 graduation speech at Dartmouth.
“The message has been a lot of, a point is just a point,” the coach said. “Against a good team, they’re going to score, they’re going to hit shots, but we can’t allow their shots to then effect what we’re doing offensively because it’s just a point. We have to take it one possession at a time.”
Armed with positive messaging, Turner opened the fourth quarter with a three-ball and a free throw to cut the deficit to two, 43-41. Then junior guard Saniyah Glenn-Bello hit a triple, her first points since the five-minute mark of the opening quarter, to put the Crimson in front. Senior forward Rodriguez followed with a fastbreak layup.
Sophomore guard Marija Avlijas got Columbia back on the board with a layup, but sophomore forward Abigail Wright hit two buckets for Crimson to cap a 13-2 run and make it a 50-45 contest with 4:30 left in regulation.
After Harvard upped its lead to six, Collins got a steal in the Crimson backcourt and layup to make it 53-49.
Turner missed a jumper on the next possession but grabbed her own rebound and fired the ball to an open Glenn-Bello, who nailed a triple from the top of the arc at the 1:44 mark.
Henderson hit one of two free throws the next time up the court, then muscled a right-side layup through two defenders, after an Avijlas steal, to cut the deficit to 56-52.
As Harvard worked the shot clock down to single digits, Columbia junior guard/forward Perri Page tipped the ball into the backcourt, but it went out of bounds before she could secure it.
Turner got the inbounds pass and hit both free throws after being fouled to up the lead to six, 58-52, with 12 seconds left.
Columbia was unsuccessful on the next inbounds, with Aviljas’ pass going over Weiss and into Turner’s hands.
After hitting one of two from the charity stripe, Henderson corralled a missed Broom three and sank both free throws to make it a 59-54 with only four ticks left on the clock.
A free throw from Glenn-Bello ended the 60-54 contest and the Crimson celebrated in front of a shocked Levien crowd that featured many former Lions there for Alumni Weekend.
In the decisive ten minutes, Harvard shot 67% (4-for-6) from two and 75% (3-for-4) from three, while outrebounding Columbia by five and limiting its rivals to 40% (4-for-10) from inside the arc and another 0% (0-for-5) effort from beyond the arc. While the Crimson only made 50% of their free throws, they made three more than the Lions.
As much as mental mistakes may have cost her team late in the game, Griffith admitted that Harvard’s full-court press may have contributed to the lack of offensive production.
“To that point of pressure and frustration, that mounted,” Griffith said. “It’s hard in those moments when you’re stressed, you really get tested.”
Turner finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
Glenn-Bello added 12 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, and Wright, who has been pushed by the coaches all season long to be more aggressive offensively, posted 12 big points on 6-for-7 shooting.
On the Lions’ side, Henderson and Collins tallied 15 and 13 points, respectively, but shot a combined 9-for-25 (36%) from the field, including a 2-for-11 effort from three.
Both teams now head into the final four games of the regular season, looking for a conference title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Ivy League Tournament. While ESPN currently predicts Harvard, Columbia and Princeton to make the field of 68, each wants to secure the automatic bid, and avoiding each other until the final is the preferred route.
“I think we’re a really good team, I think they’re (Columbia) a good team, and I think Princeton is a good team. This is a great league,” Moore said. “I hope that us playing each other and beating each other does not kick one of us out of the (NCAA) tournament or two of us out of the tournament.”
For the Lions, next up is a pivotal Saturday 5:30 p.m. contest at Princeton (18-5, 9-1) with the winner taking sole possession of first place. Harvard, meanwhile, looks for its fifth straight win and a tie for second place when it travels to fourth-place Brown (10-13, 4-6) for a Saturday 2 p.m. matchup.